Weekend Update

Well, it’s snowing. Again. One would think that by March 16, the snow would be completely gone from any weather system here in the mid-Atlantic. I have the bunny snow-cam going again, and this image is from the start of the storm, at about 8:00 p.m. Sunday. Just a sparkly dusting.

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I played around with the grapefruit vodka from last weekend. We had tried it in martinis the other night and it seemed a bit harsh to me. That could very well be because of the fact that I NEVER drink martinis and therefore would think that any martini was harsh, regardless of what I used. However, I took the rind out of the vodka immediately, thinking that it shouldn’t get any stronger. Then, over this weekend, I filtered the vodka.

The unfiltered vodka is on the right and the beginnings of the filtered vodka is on the left. I used two coffee filters to strain it.

This is the filtered batch.

And this is the filter. It’s mostly small bits and pieces and then the grapefruit oil, which the filter pulled out. Now I need to come up with some recipes for grapefruit vodka. Any suggestions are appreciated!

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I attended the garden lecture at Historic Hampton Mansion this weekend and it was fascinating. The lecturer, Gregory Weidman, presented the talk with just the right mix of academic and personal information. Thanks to everyone who came out on this dreary afternoon.

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When I was moving some things around over the weekend, I came across a book that I’d picked up at a yard sale last fall. I think I paid $.25 for it. I wanted to share the query I put on my FB page regarding the book, and then get your thoughts.

As you know, I am a serious book lover. The book I bought is a botany text book from the 1800s. However, it is barely intact and when I turn the pages, they crumble. The leather covers are turning to dust and falling off. But there are some great botanical engravings in the back of the book. I tried scanning them, but it was too hard because the spine of the book was so fragile. It’s a fascinating book, but it would be impossible to ever read and displaying it is pretty much out of the question, since you can’t even read the spine or cover and it’s deteriorating.

Here's my quandary: Can i cut the prints out of the book (that kind of horrifies me), or do I just pass the book along to someone else who will probably cut the prints out, if they don't just chuck the book. It's not a first edition, just a very old book. At what point does the book become unusable for anything but its parts?

Even the engravings aren’t in great shape, as you can see from this fold-out, which is creased and torn. The others are foxed and darkened along the edges, but they’re fascinating none-the-less. The book could possibly be repaired, but since I paid a quarter for it, and it’s probably not all that valuable, and it’s certainly not special to me, that’s not an option at all. And a repair would be very expensive, per a curator/conservator friend.

I see prints and engravings at antique dealers all of the time, and suspect that they have been pulled out of books. I am of two minds about this. There are cases where the whole book is worth much more than the sum of the prints in it, like an old catalogue or a bible.

So far, on my FB page, the comments are overwhelmingly positive for preserving what I can of the book by taking out the plates. Only one person said to throw it out, and I suspect she was joking… I’d love for you to weigh in with your thoughts on this.